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Prof David Hassan, Dr Conor Heffernan
Monday, February 24, 2025
Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
About the Project
With the rise of the internet and smartphones, our sources of information have seen a massive shift. We no longer exclusively turn to books, professionals, or institutions for advice; we also turn to the internet. Among the myriad topics we seek information on, fitness stands out. And guiding us through our digital fitness journeys are online fitness influencers. This is especially the case for male gym goers who are a core audience for many of the internet’s most famous fitness personalities.
This PhD examines how influencers have become such central figures in fitness spaces. This began with modest internet forums and chat rooms in the 1990s and early 2000s and as technology evolved, so did digital influencers. The rise of social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube catapulted these fitness enthusiasts to influencer status. This proposal examines both historical influencers such as ‘Zyzz’ and more mainstream figures.
As social media allowed voices and messages to become amplified, it has become clear that a schism exists within online fitness spaces between those who promote behaviours supported by scienitific evidence and those whose expertise lies in their own experience. This is where the heart of the PhD lies: in the interplay between hard, evidence-based fitness science and the anecdotal advice of influencers or ‘bro-scientists.’
This research seeks to answer a few critical questions: How did the leap from simple forums to global social media platforms shape the fitness influencer landscape? How do influencers balance fact-based advice with personal anecdotes? And, most importantly, how have Influecers shaped our understanding of health, diet, gender norms, and lifestyle?
Prospective candidates can apply from a range of backgrounds although it is envisioned that those with training in history, sociology, gender studies, antropology, sport management, exercise science or. media studies may be best suited
References
Pilgrim, K. and Bohnet-Joschko, S., 2019. Selling health and happiness how influencers communicate on Instagram about dieting and exercise: mixed methods research. BMC public health, 19, pp.1-9.
Hilkens, L., Cruyff, M., Woertman, L., Benjamins, J. and Evers, C., 2021. Social media, body image and resistance training: creating the perfect ‘me’with dietary supplements, anabolic steroids and SARM’s. Sports medicine-open, 7(1), pp.1-13.
Tiggemann, M. and Anderberg, I., 2020. Muscles and bare chests on Instagram: The effect of Influencers’ fashion and fitspiration images on men’s body image. Body image, 35, pp.237-244.
Harriger, J.A., Thompson, J.K. and Tiggemann, M., 2023. TikTok, TikTok, the time is now: Future directions in social media and body image. Body Image, 44, pp.222-226.
Daniels, J., 2018. The algorithmic rise of the “alt-right”. Contexts, 17(1), pp.60-65.
Adams, N.N., 2023. A Triad of Physical Masculinities: Examining Multiple ‘Hegemonic’Bodybuilding Identities in Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid (AAS) Online Discussion Groups. Deviant behavior, pp.1-19.
Andreasson, J. and Henning, A., 2023. Digital Doping Bodies and Diversities. In Online Doping: The Digital Ecosystem and Cyborgification of Drug Cultures (pp. 67-89). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Underwood, M. and Olson, R., 2019. ‘Manly tears exploded from my eyes, lets feel together brahs’: Emotion and masculinity within an online body building community. Journal of Sociology, 55(1), pp.90-107.
Truman, E., 2022. Influencing diet: social media, micro-celebrity, food, and health. In Communication and Health: Media, Marketing and Risk (pp. 143-163). Singapore: Springer Singapore.
Wellman, M.L., 2020. What it means to be a bodybuilder: social media influencer labor and the construction of identity in the bodybuilding subculture. The Communication Review, 23(4), pp.273-289.
Lofft, Z., 2020. When social media met nutrition: How influencers spread misinformation, and why we believe them. Health Science Inquiry, 11(1), pp.56-61.
Archibald-Durham, L., 2021. The insta-diet. Current Allergy & Clinical Immunology, 34(1), pp.30-32.
Godefroy, Joseph. "Recommending physical activity during the COVID-19 health crisis. Fitness influencers on Instagram." Frontiers in Sports and Active Living 2 (2020): 589813.
Bateman, Oliver. 2019. “The Unheard History of Bodybuilding Forums, as Told by the Trolls and Counter-Trolls Who Made Them Huge.” Mel Magazine, April 2019. Available from https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/the-unheard-history-of-bodybuilding-forums-as-told-by-the-trolls-and-counter-trolls-who-made-them-huge
Sverkersson, Ellen, Jesper Andreasson, and Thomas Johansson. "‘Sis Science’and fitness doping: Ethnopharmacology, gender and risk." Social Sciences 9, no. 4 (2020): 55.
Bilgrei, Ola Røed. "Broscience: Creating trust in online drug communities." New Media & Society 20, no. 8 (2018): 2712-2727.
Motta, M., 2018. The dynamics and political implications of anti-intellectualism in the United States. American Politics Research, 46(3), pp.465-498.
Quick, V.M. and Byrd-Bredbenner, C., 2014. Disordered eating, socio-cultural media influencers, body image, and psychological factors among a racially/ethnically diverse population of college women. Eating behaviors, 15(1), pp.37-41.
Merkley, E. and Loewen, P.J., 2021. Anti-intellectualism and the mass public’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nature Human Behaviour, 5(6), pp.706-715.
Shurley, J.P., Todd, J.S. and Todd, T.C., 2017. The science of strength: Reflections on the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the emergence of research-based strength and conditioning. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 31(2), pp.517-530.
Hilkens, L., Cruyff, M., Woertman, L., Benjamins, J. and Evers, C., 2021. Social media, body image and resistance training: creating the perfect ‘me’with dietary supplements, anabolic steroids and SARM’s. Sports medicine-open, 7(1), pp.1-13.
Tiggemann, M. and Anderberg, I., 2020. Muscles and bare chests on Instagram: The effect of Influencers’ fashion and fitspiration images on men’s body image. Body image, 35, pp.237-244.
Harriger, J.A., Thompson, J.K. and Tiggemann, M., 2023. TikTok, TikTok, the time is now: Future directions in social media and body image. Body Image, 44, pp.222-226.
Daniels, J., 2018. The algorithmic rise of the “alt-right”. Contexts, 17(1), pp.60-65.
Adams, N.N., 2023. A Triad of Physical Masculinities: Examining Multiple ‘Hegemonic’Bodybuilding Identities in Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid (AAS) Online Discussion Groups. Deviant behavior, pp.1-19.
Andreasson, J. and Henning, A., 2023. Digital Doping Bodies and Diversities. In Online Doping: The Digital Ecosystem and Cyborgification of Drug Cultures (pp. 67-89). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Underwood, M. and Olson, R., 2019. ‘Manly tears exploded from my eyes, lets feel together brahs’: Emotion and masculinity within an online body building community. Journal of Sociology, 55(1), pp.90-107.
Truman, E., 2022. Influencing diet: social media, micro-celebrity, food, and health. In Communication and Health: Media, Marketing and Risk (pp. 143-163). Singapore: Springer Singapore.
Wellman, M.L., 2020. What it means to be a bodybuilder: social media influencer labor and the construction of identity in the bodybuilding subculture. The Communication Review, 23(4), pp.273-289.
Lofft, Z., 2020. When social media met nutrition: How influencers spread misinformation, and why we believe them. Health Science Inquiry, 11(1), pp.56-61.
Archibald-Durham, L., 2021. The insta-diet. Current Allergy & Clinical Immunology, 34(1), pp.30-32.
Godefroy, Joseph. "Recommending physical activity during the COVID-19 health crisis. Fitness influencers on Instagram." Frontiers in Sports and Active Living 2 (2020): 589813.
Bateman, Oliver. 2019. “The Unheard History of Bodybuilding Forums, as Told by the Trolls and Counter-Trolls Who Made Them Huge.” Mel Magazine, April 2019. Available from https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/the-unheard-history-of-bodybuilding-forums-as-told-by-the-trolls-and-counter-trolls-who-made-them-huge
Sverkersson, Ellen, Jesper Andreasson, and Thomas Johansson. "‘Sis Science’and fitness doping: Ethnopharmacology, gender and risk." Social Sciences 9, no. 4 (2020): 55.
Bilgrei, Ola Røed. "Broscience: Creating trust in online drug communities." New Media & Society 20, no. 8 (2018): 2712-2727.
Motta, M., 2018. The dynamics and political implications of anti-intellectualism in the United States. American Politics Research, 46(3), pp.465-498.
Quick, V.M. and Byrd-Bredbenner, C., 2014. Disordered eating, socio-cultural media influencers, body image, and psychological factors among a racially/ethnically diverse population of college women. Eating behaviors, 15(1), pp.37-41.
Merkley, E. and Loewen, P.J., 2021. Anti-intellectualism and the mass public’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nature Human Behaviour, 5(6), pp.706-715.
Shurley, J.P., Todd, J.S. and Todd, T.C., 2017. The science of strength: Reflections on the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the emergence of research-based strength and conditioning. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 31(2), pp.517-530.
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